Salvation

a resurrected and revised poem that I published one year ago

Photo by Christoph Schmid on Unsplash

Listen to a recording of Salvation:

when no more children are killed.
when no child burns alive in a plastic tent,
is blown to pieces or decapitated in bomb attacks
or shot in the head by an invisible sniper

when no child disappears, perishes and rots, 
unfound and unaccounted for, under the rubble

when no child loses one or both legs, arms, feet, 
hands, eyes in frantic mechanical procedures
without anesthetic, disinfectant or medication

when no child starves to death or succumbs
to wasting, dehydration, infection or disease

when no child loses a mother, a father, sisters, brothers, 
an entire family and a home to be left all alone
without the love that gave them life

when no child is arrested, imprisoned, beaten, or raped
for belonging to the wrong nationality, religion or race

when no child must witness on a daily basis
death, destruction, despair, terror, torture,
unspeakable things they should never see, 
but must live with for the rest of their fragile life

when no more children are afraid to go to sleep at night
and every child wakes up to smile and laugh,
to run and play, to explore and learn, 
to dream another day of their future

then and only then, 
will humanity be worthy of salvation,
then and only then,
will Jesus Christ not have died,
nailed to a cross in the Holy Land, 
in vain

So far everything I’ve published can be read, commented on and subscribed to for free, and will remain free going forward. This does not mean, of course, that I wouldn’t appreciate a small gesture of support that I will put to good use!

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